Rev up the evening with 'Speedway'

Rev up the evening with 'Speedway'

tv tonight

By Joel Brown

New York Times Syndicate

You have to move pretty fast to outrun boredom tonight, what with all the reruns.

So we had better put the pedal to the metal.

"Speedway," (1968), on CMT at 8, is a prime bit of Elvis Presley cheese. He's a hot race car driver whose manager has put him in hock to the Internal Revenue Service. Nancy Sinatra is the agent who shows up to collect.

Also on hand: Bill Bixby, Gale Gordon, William Schallert and Carl Ballantine.

How can you lose?

To get the maximum fun, do the picture-in-picture thing. FX at 4:30 brings you some real NASCAR racing, with the Busch Series Winn- Dixie 250 live from Daytona, Fla.

And at 5 p.m., QVC has some Richard Petty items available on "For Race Fans Only."

Highlights

Summer of a billion rueful guffaws, ABC at 8: Repeats of "George Lopez," "Married to the Kellys," "Hope & Faith" and "Life with Bonnie."

"Joan of Arcadia," CBS at 8: An old LP brings back a memory for Joan's piano teacher. Repeat.

"Dateline," NBC at 8: Two hours.

"What I Like About You," WB at 8: Time to find a new base of operations. Repeat.

"Method & Red," Fox at 8:30: Repeat of Wednesday's episode with Chaka Khan and Kenny Loggins.

"Grounded for Life," WB at 8:30: Stephen Root guests as Claudia's visiting father. Repeat.

"JAG," CBS at 9: Rescue of a CIA agent from Libya gets complicated when he turns out to have a family there. Repeat.

"The Jury," Fox at 9: Gang-related shooting is seen from various viewpoints in this repeat.

"Reba," WB at 9: Back-to-back repeats involving a stray cat and a charity race that pits Reba against Brock.

"20/20," ABC at 10.

"48 Hours," CBS at 10: Behind the scenes with country's biggest names, including Shania Twain. Repeat.

"Las Vegas," NBC at 10: Keeping a high-roller happy means keeping his two daughters out of trouble. Repeat.

Family Fare

"The Bernie Mac Show," Fox at 8: When Vanessa brings home her first boyfriend, Bernie is ready to chase him off, but then he realizes that he is a good male influence on Jordan. Repeat.

Cable Cast

"Primary Colors" (1998), Bravo at 8: With President Bubba back in the news, you might get a giggle out of this John Travolta-starrer that looks at a certain Southern governor's personal and professional trials regarding a presidential election. Emma Thompson and Kathy Bates are among many supporting players.

"8 Mile" (2002), Encore at 8: OK, so it's even a weak night for movies, but this more-or-less autobiographical movie starring Eminem is an eye-opening look at the hip-hop world in Detroit.

Kim Basinger and Brittany Murphy co-star.

"Eyes Wide Shut" (1999), HBO at 9:45: Maybe someday we'll see it as a masterpiece. Probably not, though. Still, Stanley Kubrick's last movie is something to look at.

Tom Cruise is the husband whose complex marriage to Nicole Kidman sends him careening into a kinky sexual underworld. But Kidman is the one who gives a killer performance.

Late Night Talk

"Late Show with David Letterman," CBS at 11:35: Christina Applegate and the great David Sedaris.

"Tonight Show with Jay Leno," NBC at 11:35: Charles Barkley, Teenage Wasteland and Allison Moorer. Repeat.

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